Matt 5.10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
On June 17, 2004, when Sister Jiang Zongxiu went to the market in Guizhou Province, China, she thought it would be just another day. Along with her mother-in-law, Jiang went through the marketplace, handing out Christian literature and telling people about Jesus. Their actions were soon noticed, and they were arrested. Even when the police took the two women into custody, Jiang did not become discouraged: Arrest and suffering are a regular part of the Christian walk in China. Little did the 34-year-old wife and mother know that the next day she would enter eternity, beaten to death while in the custody of Chinese police.
While we may not suffer the same kind of persecution as our brothers and sisters in Asia and the Muslim world and many other places, Jesus promised us we would be persecuted!
In Matt 10 he said, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves… Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues" (Matt 10.16-17).
1. PERSECUTION BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
What we have consistently seen over the last weeks as we’ve looked at the Beatitudes is that they are so different from the world’s values. They call us to righteousness. They call us to be counter-cultural. They call us to live differently.
And what happens when you’re different? Every kid knows this. When you’re different you get picked on!
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness." We often think about persecution being for our faith, but in the first instance we’ll often be persecuted simply because we are trying to do the right thing.
A friend once recounted how he and his wife were having dinner with a group of people, and the topic somehow got onto marriage. It turned out that nearly everyone at the table, except my friend and another older couple, were in their second marriages following divorce. That’s OK, but this older couple had been married for decades, and the other people started to lay into them with snide comments and innuendo. What’s that about? Persecution because of righteousness!
Maybe you’ve been in the situation where you have to make a tough call in business. If you do the right thing it’s going to disadvantage you. That could be considered a form of passive persecution, I guess.
I once had the opportunity to get a pirated copy of some expensive software that’s popular in photography. You could argue the company wouldn’t miss it if I did because I won’t buy a legal copy, it’s too expensive. But I made the decision not to. That’s not a big thing, but typical of the small decisions that can be counter-cultural for us as we live out God’s Kingdom righteousness.
When you’re in that place, take heart that God sees and blesses.
2. PERSECUTION BECAUSE OF CHRIST
Eph 6 tells us that, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6.12).
Christians often worry that society is becoming more hostile to Christian values, as if we have some kind of right to living in a Jesus friendly environment. We’ll lobby parliament and talk about our Christian heritage. Now, I’m for Christians in politics. In fact, in Luke 16:9 Jesus said we can use worldly things for Kingdom purposes. He said, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." There’s a movie out about William Wilberforce who, 200 years ago, campaigned in parliament to outlaw the slave trade in Britain. He was a brave and great man. But ultimately Jesus doesn’t call the church to politics, he calls us to preach and minister the gospel.
The early Christians suffered because they were uncompromising in their message, and that message was as offensive then as it is now. The message that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father because only he can deal with our sin. There’s a cost to believing that. What’s the cost?
Jesus said people will insult us. But when the apostles Peter and John, who were key leaders in the early church, were flogged for publicly preaching about Jesus, the Bible tells us they went home, "Rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" (Acts 5.41). Don’t be afraid of being insulted!
Jesus said we’d be persecuted. Persecution can take many forms, verbal, physical or social. In some places it means losing friends, family, your home and possessions, your freedom or your life. How would you fair if it happened to you? Once when I was at a high school camp I was sitting on a tree stump and some older boys who knew I was Christian came and threatened to push me off if I didn’t swear! What would you do if that was your kid? What would you want your kid to do?
Jesus said people would slander us and say all kind of lies against us. Because of common fear and ignorance about things like the Lord’s Supper, early Christians were accused of all kinds of things, including cannibalism! People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they fear.
As society slowly turns more indifferent and hostile to Christianity, we may have to face these things more and more for Jesus’ sake. We can be encourage that God gives strength when we face persecution. But Jesus also gave us warning. In Mark 8:38 Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."
Let’s seek God’s grace to stand for Jesus now, taking strength from the promise that God will bless those who are persecuted because of Jesus.
3. PERSECUTION IN THE WORLD TODAY
For you and me, persecution is still fairly theoretical, isn’t it? But we mustn’t forget the hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters who suffer terribly for their faith throughout the world. We need to pray for them and support them.
Kyung Il
In 1997, Kim Kyung Il and his brother crossed the border from North Korea into China. The following year he met a pastor, became a Christian and joined a Bible study group. Under the leadership of this pastor, Kyung Il served refugees from North Korea and started Bible studies. He later became involved with sending refugees to South Korea.
Kyung Il was overseer of a safe house that discipled over 70 refugees. When a large number from the group were arrested by the Chinese police, he fled with some of the remaining refugees to the China Mongolian border. He and his wife were captured, but the rest of the group continued their journey in the desert and finally crossed the border into Mongolia, and received passage to South Korea.
Kyung Il and his wife were sent back to North Korea and placed in prison. His pregnant wife was hit in the stomach with a stick forcing an abortion. In the prison there were many inmates who knew Kim well, but they protected him by pretending not to know him. Thus the authorities did not realize how involved he was with helping refugees escape from North Korea. He was released after serving only a short sentence. He remembers that those who protected his identity while in prison had asked him to work harder to let the world know about their situation.
Kim’s wife was released from prison shortly after the forced abortion. She escaped to South Korea with other family members. After his release, Kyung Il fled to China and worked at another safe house. He continued to disciple refugees and assisted them in escaping to South Korea. During April 2002, he was caught by the Chinese police. Since his arrest, he has been held in prison in China. He is scheduled to be sent back to North Korea when released from prison in China where he will surely be executed.
Of course, I could tell you story after story after story like this. Ordinary people like you and your children suffering for the name of Christ. Friends, you and I who have freedom to openly worship and preach the gospel dare not take that for granted and forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering for our Lord. We have a duty to pray for and support the persecuted church. Through prayer, through financial support, through moral support, through lobbying we need to stand with them.
Jesus said, "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward" (Matt 10.40-42).
Surely in seeking to support and encourage and refresh those who suffer for Christ, we are doing it for him?
Many of us fear persecution. You not what? That’s natural. Those believers who are persecuted aren’t superheroes. They’re afraid too. They feel the pain of physical beatings and humiliation and rejection and loneliness. But God gives them grace to endure. And if you an I are ever called on to face it, take heart! God will give you that grace to.
Because blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because their’s is the kingdom of heaven.
[Play Wear the Crown (Bill Drake) interview and music clip]
